This blog compiles some notes and observations from one average guy's journey of life, faith and thought, along with some harvests from my reading (both on-line and in print). Learning to follow Jesus is a journey; come join me on the never-ending adventure!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Perhaps you’ve seen the recent viral images on Facebook and the like of Batman being pulled over on Route 29 in Silver Spring, Maryland
for having no tags. The images made me laugh, but I didn’t think much
of it until my wife sent me an article published earlier this week in The Washington Post titled, “Who is the Route 29 Batman?” Believe it or not, the curious case of Lenny B. Robinson sheds some light on the topic of imputed righteousness.
The
article is worth reading in full, but the skinny is that Robinson is an
independently wealthy divorced man who spends his free time and spare
money on dressing up like the Caped Crusader, driving his black
Lamborghini made to look like a Batmobile, visiting sick children
Washington and Baltimore area hospitals:

Batman began
visiting Baltimore area hospitals in 2001, sometimes with his now
teenage son Brandon playing Robin. Once other hospitals and charities
heard about his car and his cape, Batman was put on superhero speed dial
for children’s causes around the region. He visits sick kids at least
couple times a month, sometimes more often. He visits schools, too, to
talk about bullying. He does not do birthday parties.

His
superhero work is limited to doing good deeds, part of a maturation
process in his own life. In his earlier years, he acknowledges that he
sometimes displayed an unsuperhero-like temper and got into occasional
trouble with the law for fights and other confrontations. Putting on the Batman uniform changes and steadies him.

“Eventually,
it sinks in and you become him,” Batman told me. “It feels like I have a
responsibility that’s beyond a normal person. And that responsibility
is to be there for the kids, to be strong for them, and to make them
smile as much as I can.” He understands that might sound corny, but he
doesn’t care.

Of course, the metaphor
ultimately is only partial; obviously I am not talking about God
declaring us righteous on account of Christ. But there are parallels:
putting on Batman (compare to “putting on Christ”) allows Robinson—who
is then recognized as the real Batman by everyday people, children most
especially—to become righteous in the ways the character Batman is
regarded as righteous despite being an ordinary and undeserving guy
underneath all that fancy black leather and neoprene.

This happened in Montgomery County, MD, where I used to live. Holy Parable of Righteousness, Batman! And no Joker anywhere in sight.

The Story: A new Gallup survey
finds that Mississippi is the most religious U.S. state, and is one of
eight states where at least half of the residents are "very religious."
At the other end of the spectrum, Vermont and New Hampshire are the
least religious states, and are two of the five states---along with
Maine, Massachusetts, and Alaska---where less than 30 percent of all
residents are very religious.

The Background: Gallup classifies 40 percent of
Americans nationwide as "very religious" based on their statement that
religion is an important part of their daily life and that they attend
religious services every week or almost every week. Another 32 percent
of Americans are nonreligious, based on their statement that religion is
not an important part of their daily life and that they seldom or never
attend religious services. The remaining 28 percent of Americans are
moderately religious, because they say religion is important but that
they do not attend services regularly or because they say religion is
not important but still attend services.

The research by Gallup appears to show that the differences in
religious conviction are part of a "state culture" phenomenon, and are
not the result of differences in the underlying demographics or
religious identities in the states. As Gallup says in its report, "it
appears there is something about the culture and normative structure of a
state, no doubt based partly on that state's history, that affects its
residents' propensity to attend religious services and to declare that
religion is important in their daily lives."

Why It Matters: While America remains, as Gallup
notes, a "generally religious nation" the national averages conceal the
"dramatic regional differences in religiosity." Americans in the "Bible
Belt" and Utah tend to be more religious while New England and the
Western states tend to be the least religious.

Such surveys are admittedly crude tools for discerning trends. But
when so many "state cultures" are nonreligious it's likely a sign that
there is a need for broader efforts at evangelization here in the United
States.

One problem with living in a heavily "churched" area is that so many people have just enough religious to be inoculated against the gospel. On any given Sunday, 60% of the population in and around Jackson, MS are not in church. We still need more gospel preaching churches, and gospel sharing Christians,

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Who are you? Are you simply and only the sum of your own actions, decisions, mistakes and failures? Or are you defined by His actions, His decisions, His victories and His grace.

‘To get a name’ in the Bible is to get what we call an identity. God, of course, constantly names people in the Bible. When he names Adam, Abraham, Israel, and even Jesus, he refers to what he has already done or what he is going to do in their lives. When God tells someone ‘what I have done/will do is your name,’ he means that his grace in their lives should be the defining factor.

Our security, our priorities, our sense of worth and uniqueness – all the things we call identity – should be based on what God has done for us and in us. This means that if we do not have a name, if we are insecure and have to ‘find who we are,’ we have either no grasp or an inadequate grasp of what God has done."

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

"A disciple of Jesus is someone who learns the gospel, relates in the gospel, and communicates the gospel. This definition of disciple shows us that the gospel both makes and matures disciples. We see this in Jesus’s ministry. Jesus proclaimed the same gospel to the crowds that he taught to the disciples. He did not have the twelve on a special, gospel-plus track to study advanced subject matter.

The gospel is for undergraduates and graduates because nobody ever graduates from the gospel.

Jesus taught the same gospel of the kingdom to sinners and saints.

Why? Because his agenda of grace is the only solution to our common predicament of sin, Christian or non-Christian. Both desperately need the forgiving, reconciling, and restoring power of the gospel to know and enjoy God, not just once but for a lifetime.....

.....This gospel-centric approach to disciple-making is largely missing from discipleship today, which tends to focus on evangelistic techniques and discipleship methods. Unless these methods are tethered to a robust understanding of the gospel, they will actually sabotage discipleship. What we need is a recentering of Christian discipleship devolving it into forms of spiritual performance.

The Great Commission is not evangelism- or discipleship-centered—it is gospel-centered. It calls us to make disciples by being a people who orbit around Jesus and his blood-bought benefits, not performance and self-made efforts.

Disciples are gospel people who introduce and reintroduce themselves and others to the person and power of Jesus over and over again. A disciple of Jesus never stops learning the gospel, relating in the gospel, and communicating the gospel."

Sunday, March 25, 2012

This week I listened to an old album by Christian singer Kim Hill from the late 90's called "The Fire Again." This song, Ruthless Perfection, grabbed me with both its words and tune. A good message to meditate on and pray through this morning.

Iron sharpens iron, deep cries to deep
The roar of the lion rouses from sleep
All who would heed the call of their election
He will baptize them with fire, and work His ruthless perfection

Is it any wonder, is it any guess
How He will respond to the one who answers yes?
I will yield to your love and to Your correction
In mercy severe He will work His ruthless perfection.

As we behold Him, we will be like Him
Changed from glory into glory into glory again.
As we behold Him, we will be like Him
Changed from glory into glory into glory again.

Let's call on His kindness, and fall on our face
Surrender the flesh to His judgement and grace
Comes the cross, so comes the resurrection
Let us be made new, by a work of ruthless perfection.

Friday, March 23, 2012

The Story: According to the Athens Review,
an atheist who had threatened to sue a Texas county over the display of
a nativity scene says he is "completely flabbergasted" that Christians
from that same county provided him financial assistance for a medical
problem.

"My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us," said Patrick Greene. "Just the opposite."

The Background: Last month Greene, an activist with a
long history of bringing lawsuits related to public displays of
Christian imagery, threatened to sue Henderson County if county official
allowed a nativity scene to be placed on the courthouse lawn next
Christmas. Greene had intended to represent himself in the lawsuit, but
dropped the threat when he discovered he had a detached retina and may
lose his sight.

"There is no way for me to go up there if I'm blind," said Greene,
who lives in San Antonio, nearly 300 miles from the Henderson County
courthouse. Greene said he has no insurance to pay for an operation that
might save his sight, and can't even pay for the exam that will confirm
the diagnosis. "Why waste the money if I can't do anything about it,"
he told the local newspapers.

When Jessica Cry, a member of Sand Springs Baptist Church in Athens,
read on the Internet about Greene's troubles, she felt compelled to
help. Cry told her pastor, Rev. Eric Graham, who contacted Greene and
inquired about how his church could help with the surgery.

Greene told Graham he had a more immediate need.....

Read it all at the link. Perhaps there would be more Christian victories in the "culture wars" if more Christians acted like Christians.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Late last week I had a chance to see a new film called October Baby,
set to open in theaters March 23. The movie tells the story of a
college student who belatedly learns that she was adopted -- and that
she's a survivor of abortion.

Give them credit: That's a perspective that I believe has very rarely been shown on film before.

The filmmakers are, as you would guess, pro-life Christians, and the
film openly reflects that. Which raises the question, how is it as a film? As many of you know, I strongly believe
that a film needs to be a film, not a sermon. And I'll be honest with
you: During the preview, when it was mentioned that the Erwin brothers,
who made this movie, took some advice from the Kendrick brothers, who
made Facing the Giants, I winced a little.

That said, October Baby is
in many ways a strong film. Most of the acting is good, and some of it
is very good. The characters are more real and likable than those in
most other faith-based films I've seen, and not all of their storylines
are tied up with a neat little bow. The story feels original and fresh,
with both emotional impact (I teared up a couple of times) and humor....

"God promises that the day is coming when there will be no more sickness and pain, no more sorrow and suffering, no more hidden tears and unanswered questions. The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky pictured restoration this way:

'I have a childlike conviction that the sufferings will be healed and smoothed over, that the whole offensive comedy of human contradictions will disappear like a pitiful mirage... and that ultimately, at the world's finale, in the moment of eternal harmony, there will occur and be revealed something so precious that it will suffice for all hearts, to allay all indignation, to redeem all human villainy, all bloodshed; it will suffice not only to make forgiveness possible, but also to justify everything that has happened with men.'"

Are you
ready for it? I’ll warn you beforehand – it’s going to sound simple, but
it’s not. It takes great concentration and effort and no small measure
of grace. So here goes – a simple way to die to the self:

Listen.

I mean really listen.

Here’s why that’s hard – because very few of us actually do it. Think
about it – how many times, when leaving a conversation, have you
forgotten the person’s name you just met? How many times has a detail
resurfaced in conversation that you should have remembered but didn’t?
How many times, as someone rattles on and on about their kids, their
work, their ideas – do you simply tune out and look for an exit strategy
to the conversation? How many times, if you heard a playback of the
conversation, would you say something after someone else that only
vaguely touches upon what they said and instead purports your own ideas?

Surely I can’t be alone here.

I find myself, more often than I care to admit, thinking more about
my own clever reply or better story or great response than actually
listening when another person is talking. But when you choose
to actually listen, you are making the active choice to die to the self.
You are placing importance on another human being – more importance
than on yourself.

It’s true, those who actively listen, sometimes look like idiots in
conversation because there are lulls after someone is speaking. But
that’s because the listener hasn’t been thinking about how to respond
nearly as much as he or she has been thinking about what is being said.

Iran is in the news as a country developing nuclear weapons and
preparing for war against Israel and ultimately the USA. However,
regular folks in the country do not necessarily support their leaders
particularly when it comes to Christianity.

A full blown revival is going on in the country and government
officials are trying everything they can to stop it. Authorities
continue to arrest pastors and persecute Christians to no avail.
Recently the government issued a decree forbidding churches from meeting
on Fridays. Friday is the traditional ‘day off’ and the time to worship
in the Iranian culture and most of the Middle East for that matter.
This decree is only going to affect the ‘official’ churches however
since most Iranian Christians meet in illegal house churches in secret.

The Iranian revival continues to expand through dreams, visions, and
healing. Some put numbers now at 500,000. This article estimates 370,000
have converted to Christianity through the recent revival. There is no
way to get an accurate account since it is all underground......

Open Doors staff members recently reported that church growth is “explosive” in Iran; they even speak of a revival.

Iran is the fifth country
in the world on Open Doors’ World Watch List for the persecution of
believers. The president and the supreme leader of the country openly
speak against the growth of house churches, and persecution against
Christian converts is highly prevalent.

Interestingly, though,
these two government leaders are nearly alone in their disdain for
Christianity as a “Western religion,” says one Open Doors staff member.
“In the past, Christianity wasn’t popular; it was seen as a Western
religion. Now only the government sees it as a Western product, or
better: a Western political system,” says the staff member....

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A collection of wonderful Twits (Twitter messages) on GRACE by Paul David Tripp - @PaulTripp:

It is always timely and is never inappropriate - GRACE.
It always meets you where you are and takes you where you need to be - GRACE.
It never misses the point and will never run out - GRACE.
It has divine power to do for you what you could never do for yourself - GRACE.
It guarantees you a future that you could have never earned on your own - GRACE.
It's provision for the moment and hope for all eternity - GRACE
It offers you a kingdom that is greater and more glorious than what you could ever construct on your own - GRACE.
It's bad news about you coupled with the very good news of the cross - GRACE.
It's love, even when you're the most undeserving ~ GRACE.
It's daily strength for what you' ve been called to do ~ GRACE.
It's not just forgiveness, but a brand new identity as well ~ GRACE
It not only forgives, it progressively transforms - GRACE.
It fulfills very promise and delivers every provision - GRACE.

My response to all of this: Grace is not just how we get in. Grace is where we sit, how we stand, the way we walk and where we are going.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Patrick was raised in a nominally Christian home in Britain during
the collapse of the Roman Empire. At 16 he was captured by Irish pirates
and taken to the west coast of Ireland. The trauma of slavery turned
him to the Lord, and he strove to spend each day in communion with God.
Six years later he escaped and returned to Britain. After a time of
theological study, Patrick felt the Lord’s call to return to Ireland as a
missionary to his captors.

Despite strong opposition from both the Irish and his Christian
contemporaries back home, Patrick speaks of “thousands” converted
through his ministry, including sons and daughters of Irish kings, from
the worship of “idols and filthy things.” This success came from
Patrick’s deep understanding of what Scripture teaches regarding
missions and a steadfast dedication to his work.

Patrick’s work firmly planted the Christian faith in Irish soil and
left a deep imprint on the Celtic church that would grow up from this
soil. The central place that the Bible held in his thinking helped
initiate an impetus among the Irish toward literacy. In fact, this
impetus was so strong that by the seventh century the Irish had become
major participants in “bibliocentric literacy,” a key aspect of Roman
Christianity in late antiquity. Throughout the sixth and seventh
centuries, Celtic Christians evangelized the British Isles, Gaul, and
central Europe with a passion that matched that of Patrick, the father
of the Irish church.

“In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must make
this choice, regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God and
everlasting consolation, without fear and frankly I must spread
everywhere the name of God so that after my decease I may leave a
bequest to my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord—so many
thousands of people.” – Patrick

My annual repost of "St. Patrick's Breastplate: There are various versions and translations of the prayer know as St. Patrick's Breastplate, contained in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century AD. Here's a good translation for prayer today.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
......
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
.....
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., travelling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., travelling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Friday, March 16, 2012

There is a difference between "accepting" Jesus and "following" Jesus.

The concept of following evokes rich imagery—journey, process, adventure, and dependence. Accepting sounds
like Jesus is put on our scales, and we decide his fate, like he is
campaigning for our vote as he runs for Messiah. To accept Jesus does
not call one to live as a disciple; it merely calls one to make a
decision. Following calls for a series of decisions being made by the
minute, keeping Jesus the focal point, refusing to look to the right or
the left, increasing in likeness to his character and in closeness to
his person.

This is a good book that I am part way through reading (along with so many other books!) Plus, as the "Journeyman" I am, of course, always interested in quotes describing following Jesus as a journey, because it is!

To follow up this mornings earlier post about "orthodoxy of community," consider this:

"Christians do not find happiness by ruling over their neighbors, or by seeking supremacy over the week, or by being rich, or by attacking the inferior. On the contrary, Christians see success in taking upon themselves the burdens of their neighbor, using their positions of superiority to benefit the deficient, an in distributing whatever they receive from God to the needy. This is what it means to be an imitator of God."

"One cannot explain the explosive dynamite, the dunamis, of the early church apart from the fact that they practiced two things simultaneously: orthodoxy of doctrine and orthodoxy of community in the midst of the visible church, a community which the world can see. By the grace of God, therefore, the church must be known simultaneously for its purity of doctrine and the reality of its community."

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

“God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three
Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve
the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son
fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the
purpose of the Father and Son by renewing. Saves – does
everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death
in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption,
calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies. Sinners —
men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, unable to life
a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot.”

He looked angry. The worship leader had chosen a classic
hymn, “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” Brett doesn’t care for the hymns. Even
though he’s the standby guitarist for three of the four worship teams, when a
hymn comes along he doesn’t sing. Even the revamped versions of “When I Survey”
and “Amazing Grace” don’t work for him. He just stands there with his lips
pursed together.

When I looked to my left, there was Daniel.

He looked distressed. We’d moved on to a different song now,
introducing the new modern worship Chris Tomlin song, “White Flag.”
Daniel is a retired school teacher. He gave up his NASB
for a more modern translation, but he’s not giving in an inch when it comes to
all the new songs we’ve been learning lately. So he stands stone-faced, silent,
with his lips pursed together.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

"Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision."

So then, have we nothing to do to obtain righteousness? No, nothing
at all! For this righteousness comes by doing nothing, hearing nothing,
knowing nothing, but rather in knowing and believing this only–that
Christ has gone to the right hand of the Father, not to become our
judge, but to become for us our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness,
our salvation!

Now God sees no sin in us. For in this heavenly righteousness, sin
has no place. So now we may certainly think, “Although I still sin, I
don’t despair, because Christ lives–who is both my righteousness and my
eternal life.” In that righteousness I have no sin, no fear, no guilty
conscience, no fear of death. I am indeed a sinner in this life of mine
and in my own righteousness, but I have another life, another
righteousness above this life, which is in Christ, the Son of God, who
knows no sin or death, but is eternal righteousness and eternal life.
For if the truth of being justified by Christ alone (not by our works)
is lost, then all Christian truths are lost…On this truth and only on
this truth the Church is built and has its being.

Monday, March 12, 2012

On the subject of hope for those suffering from abuse, addiction and emotional pain, here's an excerpt from Redemptionby Mike Wilkerson.

Which is more painful? To live without hope or to catch a glimpse of
hope only to have it disappear? Often, this is our experience on the eve
of redemption. Certainly, God is not a fickle redeemer. He is faithful.
But if we expect redemption to be mainly about comfort, we may be
disappointed when—at least for a season—it brings more pain.

Or you may have come to God with a life that was a mess with sin and
were relieved to find that he accepts you in Christ, just as you are.
But in time, you were confronted with the reality that some of those
sins from your former life still had a powerful hold on you. Some new
Christians at this point are so discouraged they question whether they
were ever saved at all.

Or you may have found that after years of harboring the pain of abuse
in secret, it’s time to talk about it. You may have to revisit some
painful memories or confront someone who has harmed you. The battle to
decide to speak out is pain unto itself, intensifying the pain of the
original abuse. Maybe you’ve made your secrets known, and your
confidants, rather than comforting and protecting you, have hurt you
further by suggesting that you keep quiet or have even blamed you for
stirring up trouble by digging up the past.

"There are two kinds of Christians. 'Sink Christians' view salvation as they would a sink. The water of salvation flows into the sink so that Christians can soak up all the benefits: eternal life, assurance in the presence of God, and strength in times of trial. Those who adopt this mind-set concentrate solely on what the Bible says God has done and will do for them. 'Faucet Christians' view salvation differently. they look at the world as the sink and themselves as the faucet. The blessings of salvation flow to them in order to flow through them out to the wider world. They rightly see that the Bible describes salvation as something that God not only does for them, but also through them."

Friday, March 9, 2012

"Popular pastor and worldwide speaker Matt Chandler writes his first book
to remind the church of what is of first and utmost importance—the
gospel. Chandler explains that many Christians forget the importance of
the gospel and simply assume it. They grow up in church and can
be just as confused about what the gospel is as those who have never
even been to church. The antidote to the assumed gospel then is to make
the gospel explicit. While some understand the gospel only as a
means to salvation, Chandler asserts that the gospel is more than “I
believe it so I’m saved.” The explicit gospel bears weight on the
transformation of our lives, increasing our joy, and changing the way we
see the world around us."

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Book of Job is not exactly the most popular book in the Bible. However, the effort to read and grasp its message brings great dividends. Here's Steve Murrell on 7 lessons from the Book of Job
----------------------

1. Bad things happen to seemingly good and innocent people. Four
times Job is described by God as "blameless and upright" yet he
experienced horrible suffering.

2. The devil is real and he comes
to "steal, kill and destroy." Chapter 1 makes it clear that all Job's
pain and loss was an act of the devil, not an act of God.

3.
People experiencing bad times need good friends. When you have friends
who are suffering, try doing what Job's friends did in Job 2:13 "Then
they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one
said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was."

4.
Good friends often give bad counsel. Unfortunately, after that week of
silence, Job's friends opened their mouths and stuck both feet in, nasty
sandals and all.

5. Some things can't be explained and some
"why" questions can't be answered. The book of Job never answers the
"why" question. But it does paint a good picture of "how" - how to find
God in our pain and how to respond to calamity in a way that honors God.

6.
We can find God in our pain and loss, if we do what Job did when he
realized the extent of his loss - "then he fell to the ground in
worship..." (Job 1:20) Do we only worship God in the good times?

7.
In the end, the blessing of God caught up with and overtook Job. Most
people don't press through and read the whole book of Job. But if you
endure til the end, you will find that "the Lord blessed the latter part
of Job's life more than the former." (Job 42:12) And if we endure past
our pain, we will find God in the end.

One of the most well known passages in the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. This passage is often know by it's Hebrew beginning - "Shema Ysrael," or simply as the "Shema"

“Hear, O Israel . . .” tells us theology isn’t just to be
thought about but shouted about. Implicit in this proclamation is the
assumption that those it is for will hear it. We proclaim God’s word
with confidence knowing that it contains the Spiritual power to be heard
by those with the ears to hear. So “hear this” isn’t just a figure of
speech like “hear ye, hear ye” but a confession that true Israel will
receive the speech in her spiritual senses. “Hear, O Israel” is a bit
like “Come forth!” from the mouth of an empty tomb.

“The LORD our God, the LORD is one” tells us who God is, what God is, and how God is.

Firstly, who is this God? He is the LORD: he is YHWH. He has given us
his name. He is not Baal or Belial or some indistinct Star-Warsian
pantheistic life force. He is spirit but he is Personal — his name is
YHWH, the great I AM. He tells us who he is.

Finally, how is God? “The LORD is one.” This God named YHWH is the
God, the only God, the one true God. Sure, there’s plenty of so-called
“gods,” but there is just one real God (1 Corinthians 8:5-6). So “the
LORD is one” tells us how many Gods there are. But it also tells us how
many Gods the three Persons the Scriptures identify as God amount to.
“The LORD is one” tells us quantity but also unity. The three Persons
proclaimed God in the Bible — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — are one
God.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Recently an article appeared in the Orange County Register (the original article is here) which claimed that Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (author of The Purpose Driven Life) had stated that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, along with some other outrageous statements. This article has been widely distributed and commented on at many Christian websites and blogs, with much strong condemnation of Warren's reported views.

QUESTION: Do people of other religions worship the same God as Christians?

WARREN: Of course not. Christians have a view of God
that is unique. We believe Jesus is God! We believe God is a Trinity:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three separate gods but one God. No
other faith believes Jesus is God. My God is Jesus. The belief in God as
a Trinity is the foundational difference between Christians and
everyone else. There are 2.1 billion people who call themselves
Christians . . . whether Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal, or
Evangelical . . . and they all have the doctrine of the Trinity in
common.

QUESTION: A recent newspaper article claimed you
believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God, that you are “in
partnership” with a mosque, and that you both agreed to “not evangelize
each other.”You immediately posted a brief refutation online. Can you expand on that?

WARREN: Sure. All three of those statements are flat
out wrong. Those statements were made by a reporter, not by me. I did
not say them . . . I do not believe them . . . I completely disagree
with them . . . and no one even talked to me about that article!...

I have benefited from some of Rick Warren's books and admire his work, even though not agreeing with him on every method or emphasis. However, if bloggers are going to criticize Pastor Warren, they should at least make every effort to get the facts right and let him speak for himself. I don't think it is ever safe to rely solely on a piece in a secular publication for accuracy on Christian theology or practices, especially not an article about such a well-known and influential person as Rick Warren.

In my reading about devotional practices in different Christian traditions, I frequently come across the Latin term Lectio Divina. What is Lectio Divina, you may ask? The term translates to English as "Divine Reading." Below is a description of Lectio Divina from the website of Redeemer Presbyterian (Tim Keller's Church):

Lectio Divina, or "Divine Reading" involves meditative listening to the
reading, out loud and slowly, of a short passage or a few isolated
verses of Scripture. It can be down on your own or with a group. Those
who listen are encouraged to set aside analysis, and what they "know"
already about the passage, seeking instead to open themselves to God's
Word, listen with their hearts and receive it expectantly and passively.
They then attend to what they receive from God. God's Word is
received personally, as an individualized gift to each person.

They go on to give a step by step guide on how to do it.

Sounds to me like a good and normal part of a devotional life and being a person of the Book, provided that it is not all you do. Carl Truman has some balancing thoughts here.

Overall, it seems to me that this articulation of LD amounts to a
formalized elaboration in sophisticated language of those Bible studies
where everybody has a chance to tell everybody else 'This is what the
passage means to me,' and, depending on the innate ability of the
participants, the group may not necessarily go home with a better
understanding of the passage or, indeed, any understanding of the
passage at all. Such is not really consonant with a Reformation
understanding of scripture which placed a high premium on analyzing the
text to establish its meaning and on a view of the church where the
reading and understanding of scripture was to be guided and facilitated
by those set aside as competent for the task. Not that the Reformers
did not think individuals should not read the Bible for themselves; but
they were clear that, when doing so, such should not do so in isolation
from the analysis and knowledge provided by their nurture within the
church

Knowledge and devotion, study and meditation, head and heart -we should keep them both together.

"...Grace makes us nervous, it scares us to death because it strips us of
our beloved “you owe me” religion. It snatches control out of our
hands. It tears up the timecard we were counting on to be assured of
that nice, big paycheck on Friday. It forces us to rely on the naked
goodness of Another and that is simply terrifying. However much we may
hate having to get up and go to the salt mines everyday, we distrust the
thought of completely resting in the promised, unmanageable generosity
of God even more.

By nature we’re all perpetually suspicious of promises that seem too
good to be true. We’re wary of grace. We wonder about the ulterior
motives of the excessively generous. What’s the catch? What’s in it for
him? So we try to domesticate the message of one-way love–after all, who
could trust in or believe something so radically unbelievable?

Contrary to what we conclude naturally, the gospel is not too good to
be true. It is true! It’s the truest truth in the entire universe. No
strings attached! No fine print to read. No buts. No conditions. No
qualifications. No footnotes. And especially, no need for balance."

"Since 2006, there have been several heartbreaking situations that
have occurred in our church family that resulted in broken
relationships, broken trust, divisions within our church family and a
damaged witness in our community," Dr. Charles Fowler, the church's
senior pastor, wrote to the congregation last month....

....Church leaders and members had been battling each other for control
for years. One pastor resigned in 2006, citing "the protection of my
wife and children" after a long and bitter dispute over church
governance. Three years later, another pastor resigned after an angry
dispute over worship styles and other issues.

Pastor Charles Fowler led his church through a season of repentance for division and then a worship service of confession and forgiveness.

On Sunday evening, Jan. 29, in Germantown, Fowler called his flock together to confess, forgive and repent corporately in a special service he called "Grace Applied."

"We have prayed so long for this service," Fowler began as hundreds of past, present and future church members and leaders filled the seats of the worship center. "Your Holy Spirit has prepared the hearts of many, many people who have a desire to be here tonight."

Fowler had prepared for the service by writing a declaration of confession and forgiveness for the congregation to read aloud together. He also set the stage with three chairs, three basins of water and three white towels.

An accurate working knowledge of the idols of our hearts is
essential. I see this played out in my own life and in the lives of
others around me. A conflict with my wife spirals hopelessly down what
my senior pastor calls “the tunnel of chaos” until the moment God shines
a spotlight on my heart: this conflict isn’t who said what. It’s about
my idolatrous desire to always be right. The tunnel of chaos begins to
dissipate. Repentance can be sought not blindly but intelligently.
Knowing our idols is important.

But it’s not the heart of the Christian life. Jesus, the perfect
Savior and Redeemer, is at the heart of our faith – not our own idol
hunt. Ed Welch, in his blog post “Who Talks About Idols Among Friends?” makes a great point. While the quote is about biblical counseling, it’s equally as applicable to how we do “self-counseling.”

Idolatry isn’t at the heart of biblical counseling, Jesus
is. Biblical counseling is not a process of lying in wait for the idols
of someone’s heart. It is the application of the good news to everyday
life, especially to the stubborn trials and sufferings of life. As such,
the death and resurrection of Christ is the one thing that is always in
view. It animates all encouragement, wisdom, illumination, trust, love
and hope.

Today, what have you thought about, pondered, and given the most
mental energy to – your sins, whether expressed outwardly in actions or
buried deep in your heart through idolatrous desires? Or your Savior,
who has completely atoned for your sins and is perfectly content with
His own pace as He unfailingly transforms you into His image? Yes, there
is a place for self-examination and consideration of our sins, but
never as an end in and of itself.

Self-examination or idol-hunts as ends
in themselves don’t lead to hope and are dead-ends. Considering Jesus,
pondering His work and glorying in it, brings life, joy, and hope. So
know your idols – but know your Savior even better!

Friday, March 2, 2012

"Saint Paul has not said to you, “Think how it would be if there were no condemnation”; he has said, “There is
therefore now none.” He has made an unconditional statement, not a
conditional one–a flat assertion, not a parabolic one. He has not said,
“God has done this and that and the other thing; and if by dint of
imagination you can manage to pull it all together, you may be able to
experience a little solace in the prison of your days.” No. He has
simply said, “You are free. Your services are no longer required. The
salt mine has been closed. You have fallen under the ultimate statute of
limitation. You are out from under everything: Shame, Guilt, Blame. It
all rolls off your back like rain off a tombstone.”

It is essential that you see this clearly. The Apostle is saying that
you and I have been sprung. Right now; not next week or at the end of
the world. And unconditionally, with no probation officer to report to.
But that means that we have finally come face to face with the one
question we have scrupulously ducked every time it got within a mile of
us: You are free. What do you plan to do?"

Pride kills, and comparing ones-self to anyone but Jesus leads to pride. From a post by Ryan Huguley:

Pride is the feeling you experience when you compare yourself to someone else and deem yourself better than they could ever be.

So, I compare myself to another Christian and think, “I’m so much more holy then they are. I love Jesus far more than they do.” I compare myself to another father
and think, “I’m a way better dad than that guy. I play with my kids,
I’m sensitive to their needs, and I make them a priority. He doesn’t do
any of that.” I compare myself to another pastor
and think, “I’m so glad I preach better than that guy. I’m glad my
theology is superior to his. I’m glad I love lost people more than he
does. I’m making disciples far more effectively than he ever will.”

See what I mean? Comparing ourselves to others leads to one of two evils – despair, or pride.
S0 we need to stop comparing ourselves to other Christians, husbands,
wives, moms, dads, pastors, friends, brothers, sisters, co-workers, and
classmates. Instead, we need to start comparing ourselves to one person
– JESUS.

When I compare myself to Jesus one thing becomes clear – He is perfect and I am not. But the good news of the gospel is this…

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

The gospel kills our pride and destroys our despair. Jesus frees us from the need to compare ourselves to others.

Remember - "...when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding." (2 Cor. 10:12 ESV)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

I'm a conflicted man: I use a Kindle e-reader (and love it), but I also love physical books and will never totally give them up. As I think through my conflict, I found this interesting list from Eric Mckiddie of "10 Benefits of Ebooks that Will Surprise You":

1. Less buyer’s remorse. Ebooks
can capitalize on our immediate gratification impulse (not that it’s a
good impulse, but if you followed it, might as well make the best of
it). How many of us have purchased a physical book on impulse from
Amazon and waited several days for it to be shipped, only for it to sit
on the shelf because the excitement wore off while we waited for it to
arrive? Immediate delivery means – hopefully – less unread books that
you purchased on a whim.

2. The Evernote connection. It’s
easy to import your Kindle highlights into Evernote, making them easily
and speedily searchable. This is a huge time saver when it comes to
sermon prep. Michael Hyatt shows you how.

3. Shareability. The
impact of a book grows exponentially with the shareability of ebooks.
With the reader’s ability to tweet a quote from the Kindle app, the
author increases the number of people he or she can impact, not to
mention sales.

4. Your physical books are searchable…for free. You
can read and search many books for free at Google Books. This gives you
all the benefits of owning a physical book, and many of the best
benefits (e.g., ubiquity and searchability) of digital books.

5. Increased student engagement with God’s word. Last
week, when I thought I caught one of my junior highers texting during
the sermon, I discovered that she was actually typing a note into her
ESV Bible iPhone app. Awesome.

“The
believer has died, is buried, is raised, is seated with Christ in the
heavenlies, and so on. These are not plateaus for victorious Christians
who have surrendered all and willed their way to victory, but realities
for every believer, regardless of how small one’s faith or how weak
one’s repentance.”

Jesus said “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matt. 7:1). However, contrary to secular society's assumption, he was not saying that moral evaluations are off limits. In the same Sermon on the Mount he talked about knowing someone by the fruit of their lives. What I believe He was saying is that we must be careful to apply to ourselves the same standards we apply to others, and with the same severity. We should give others the same level of mercy and understanding that we want for ourselves.

He was also saying that we should not be quick to presume we know someone's' heart or the facts of their situation. Here's a thought provoking list from Kevin DeYoung of things not to assume (prejudge):

Don’t assume you know all the facts after hearing one side of the story.
Don’t assume the person is guilty just because strong charges are made against him.
Don’t assume you understand a blogger’s heart after reading one post.
Don’t assume that famous author, preacher, athlete, politician, or
local celebrity won’t read what you write and don’t assume they won’t
care what you say.
Don’t assume the divorced person is to blame for the divorce.
Don’t assume the single mom isn’t following Jesus.
Don’t assume the guy from the Mission is less of a man or less of a Christian.
Don’t assume the pastor looking for work is a bad pastor.
Don’t assume the church that struggles or fails is a bad church.
Don’t assume you’d be a better mom.
Don’t assume bad kids are the result of bad parents.
Don’t assume your parents are clueless.
Don’t assume everyone should drop everything to attend to your needs, and don’t assume no one will.
Don’t assume the rich are ungenerous.
Don’t assume the poor are lazy.
Don’t assume you know what they are all like after meeting one or two of their kind.
Don’t assume you should read between the lines.
Don’t assume you have interpreted the emotions of the email correctly.
Don’t assume everyone has forgotten about you.
Don’t assume they meant to leave you off the list.
Don’t assume everyone else has a charmed life.
Don’t assume a bad day makes her a bad friend.
Don’t assume the repentance isn’t genuine.
Don’t assume the forgiveness isn’t sincere.
Don’t assume God can’t change you.
Don’t assume God can’t love you.
Don’t assume God can’t love them.